Glossary
Below is a list of terms and their meaning, along with some links for finding out more information.
Contents
ALF
ALF stands for 'ALyx File'.
Alyx
Block file
The 'block' file is a MAT file that contains most of the data acquired during an experiment. It is saved by the Experiment class upon experiment quit and follows the following file name pattern: yyyy-mm-dd_n_subject_Block.mat.
See also dat.paths, loading_experiment_data
Conditional parameter (trial condition)
A conditional parameter, or trial condition, is a user defined experiment parameter that is trial dependent. That is, its value may change across trials. It is defined as a parameter whose number of columns is greater than 1.
See the Parameters guide for more information. See also Global parameter definition.
Experiment Definition (expDef)
The experiment definition function (expDef) is a user-created function that the Signals Experiment class uses to map the hardware inputs to the outputs. The function has the following signature:
function exampleWorld(t, evts, p, vs, in, out, audio) [...] end
See also SignalsPrimer2?
Experiment Framework
The 'Experiment Framework' is everything defined by the exp.Experiment base class. This class defines some basic methods (e.g. run, quit, saveData, useRig) and 'experiment phases' (experimentInit, experimentStarted, experimentEnded) within which stuff happens and updates are broadcast to any listener such as MC. Experiments are constructed using a set of parameters and a rig object. All experiments run in Rigbox (i.e. via mc and/or srv.expServer) use this framework.
exp.SignalsExp extends this framework to use Signals for implementing a user defined experiment function (expDef). NB: Signals can be set up and used outside of this framework. For an example of this, see signals/docs/example/ringach98.m
For more info, see the Experiment Framework page and the Experiment package documentation by running the below command:
helpwin +exp
Experiment Reference String (expRef)
An 'experiment reference string' or 'expRef' (sometimes just 'ref') is a char array of the form yyyy_mm_dd_n_subject. These are unique, human-readable references to an experiment session. Whenever an experiment is started in mc, a new expRef is created, reflecting the folder structure of the main repository, where the parameter set is saved.
See The Data Package
expServer
srv.expServer is the function that loads rig hardware and allows users to run experiments either locally or via MC.
Global parameter
A global parameter is a user defined experiment parameter that is trial independent. That is, its value may change across experiments but remains constant within an experiment. It is defined as a parameter whose number of columns is equal to 1.
See the Parameters guide for more information. See also Conditional parameter definition.
Main Repository
The 'main experiment repository' or 'main repo' is the primary location where your experiment data is saved. It is the 'mainRepository' field returned by dat.paths (defined in your +dat/paths.m file). When new experiments are created, a parameter set is saved into this location according to the following directory structure: subject/date/number. srv.expServer looks in this location when loading parameters for a given experiment, and saves the main data files here.
See also dat_package, dat.expExists
Master Computer (MC)
The computer that controls the starting and stopping of experiments. This computer runs the mc function, which creates a GUI for doing this.
mc
mc is the function used for logging, parameterizing and creating new experiments.
Stimulus Computer (SC)
The 'stimulus computer', 'stim server' or 'SC' is the computer that runs srv.expServer and produces visual and auditory stimuli. All hardware devices used during an experiment are configured for this computer.
Etc.
Author: Miles Wells
v1.0.1